"Do you want to die?" Spike concentrated on listening to the floor.

"No." Sarcasm dripped from the word.

Spike would have smiled in appreciation, but he was too busy concentrating.
<Was that little cracking noises he heard. "Then don't move. The floor is
going to go any second."

"Oh right." Willow threw her hands up in the air. "Like I am really going to
fall for that one! The floor's collapsing. Stand perfectly still. That'll make
it a whole lot easier to kill you."

"Do you think I need tricks to kill?" Spike was insulted.

She glared at him. Then very slowly took a step backward.

The floor screamed in protest. Wood cracked, splintered and fell. Spike tried
to back away, but he was caught up in the floor's movement. Spike heard Willow
scream and then he smashed into the ground. Willow crashed down on top of him.

***************
Dust flew everywhere. Willow hurt. She had landed on something lumpy.
Groaning, she hefted herself up. Looking down she realized she had landed on
Spike. Gasping, she crawled back away from him. She flicked on her flashlight.
It blinked, then went out. Willow sat in the dark, looking up at the light
from the bulb, way above her head. <Ugh.>

***************
Spike sat up and immediately wished he hadn't. Pain shot through his chest
about four inches from his heart. He slid a hand carefully over his chest.
Blood soaked his shirt. The girl falling on him must have driven the wood down
into the flesh. Even one inch closer and Spike would have been dusted. He let
out a sharp laugh.

The girl stared at him. Her wide green eyes flashing in confusion. Dirt was
smeared down her face, accentuating her pale flesh. She was almost attractive,
in a childlike way. Spike graced her with an explanation.

"I am almost impaled. By all rights I should be a pile of dust." He indicated
the bloody hole in his shirt.

She moved closer, an almost sympathetic look on her face. Then she realized
what she was doing. "Some people aren't as easily killed as others." She
mimicked. "I could finish you off." She exclaimed, with mock bravado.

He laughed again, coughing when blood filled his lungs. If he were still alive
he would be drowning in his own blood. As it was, it just hurt like hell.
"Then how would you get out of this hole? Kill me. Kill yourself."

*****************
Willow glared at Spike. Climbing slowly to her feet, she glanced around the
dark room they were in. "Well, I guess I'll have to keep you alive until I
find away out of here."

Spike's eyes seemed to be laughing at her. "That's right love, you find us a
way out."
Pain also lurked in those icy blue eyes. He could probably last forever that
way. In pain, never healing. That chunk of wood flooring would prevent the
wound from ever closing up. An eternity of pain, just on the edge of death.

Willow stomped on that train of thought. <Get out first. Worry about Spike
later. Worry about Spike??> Willow shook her head to clear it. The room they
were in wasn't very large. Chunks of  wood floor were everywhere. It was like
stakes 'r' us in the little room. If she were Buffy, she'd stake Spike without
a second thought. <Why wouldn't I?>

Willow moved towards the only door. Shoving chunks of flooring out of the way,
she pushed the door. It wouldn't budge. She tried pulling it. It wouldn't even
pretend to move. Frustrated, Willow kicked it.

"Solid Steel. You can't open it."

Willow spun to face him. "You could?" She demanded. Icy blue eyes met angry
green.

"Yes."

Willow frowned. "I'll find another way out."

****************
Spike sighed. Then he settled in to wait. This one was stubborn. She wandered
around the room, pawing at the walls. Acting very much like the trapped animal
she was. Had to admire her. She wasn't the type to lay down and die, or to
make a deal with the devil if she didn't have to do it.

Spike smirked at the thought of himself as the devil. He'd slaughter the devil
in a fair fight.

****************

Willow fell into a frustrated heap next to Spike. She had poked, prodded and
kicked every wall in this little room for the better part of an hour. And
nothing. She was still trapped in a room with Spike. He was watching her
through slitted eyes. Willow glanced up at the hole in the ceiling. <If only I
could get up there.>

She must have looked wistful, because Spike chuckled. "Not unless you grow
wings, ducks."

"It's time." He breathed.

"For what?" Willow asked, leaning against a pile of rubble.

****************
"To play Let's make a deal." Spike tried to project strength in to his voice.
Truth is if he lost anymore blood he'd be too weak to stand, let alone pull
open a steel door.
<Course, if she pulls this makeshift stake out of me I could always suck her
dry. .>

***************
"You want me to pull that chunk of wood out of you." Willow studied the wound.
It was pretty nasty. An inch to the left and Spike was a pile of ashes.

"Yes, and I in return will rip that bloody door from it's bloody hinges."

"What's to stop you from killing me?" A thought occurred to Willow. The crow
bar. She stared hard at her enemy. <Could he have helped her?>

"You have your little trinkets," He indicated the bag of stakes. "And your
water gun. I am at your disposal, for the moment."

This was a hard one for Willow. Spike wasn't like Angel. He wouldn't suicide
just to kill an enemy. He also could not be trusted. Her mind kept going back
to the crow bar. Too far away for Buffy to have used, had Spike used it on
Angel? Aren't all vampires on the same side? Like a gang, an undead gang with
all for one and one for all stuff??

"Why are you here?" Willow knew the question was just delaying her decision
making. "I mean, Buffy won. Wouldn't you be out searching for a new hide out?"

Spike frowned. His eyes roamed around the room. Willow turned to look when
they settled. A bag sat under a pile of rubble. "There it is. That bag is what
I came back for."

Willow picked up the bag. Knocking shards of wood and causing a tiny dust
storm. She handed it to Spike. <Why did I just give him what he came here
for??> Willow hunched down just far enough away to be out of arms reach. He
seemed as surprised as she.

*************
Awkwardly, Spike tried to think of a way to thank the girl without having to
actually say the words. So he inclined his head slightly. She had sat back
down, out of arms reach. Very clever girl. Spike was impressed by this girl.
She had manners and guts. Maybe he wouldn't double cross her,  today.

The girl's face scrunched up. She was going to ask another question. Spike
tried to make himself comfortable. Well as comfortable as a nearly staked
vampire can make himself.

"You helped her." She stated.

Spike tilted his head. "Helped who?"

"Buffy. You helped her. You hit Angel from behind with a crow bar!"

Spike sighed. "Yes, I did."

She wasn't done yet. Willow's face was very expressive. Not a good poker face.
"Why?"
It sounded more like she was accusing him, then questioning.

"I had my reasons. Do we have a deal?"

Spike had to get her off that topic. He didn't exactly want to discuss his
love life with one of the Slayer's little pets. Besides, he was getting weaker
by the second. The girl frowned. This could take all night.

"I promise to open the door if you promise to remove the stake. Not
necessarily in that order of course."